Blast in Gaza during CNN live shot sends reporter, crew ducking for cover

A CNN correspondent who was delivering a live report from the Gaza Strip on Tuesday was forced to take cover when a blast from Israel's shelling of Gaza City rocked a building just 200 yards behind him.

Karl Penhaul was speaking on the air shortly after noon local time when the explosion occurred. Smoke could be seen billowing from the sixth floor of the residential building as Penhaul and his crew ducked below a window.

The camera stayed trained on the blast, and viewers saw white smoke rise from the explosion site. After Penhaul ducked out of the shot and away from a window, CNN anchor Poppy Harlow explained what was happening. Penhaul and his crew were not hurt.

A few moments later, Penhaul described the scene.

He said he could hear "people screaming" and F-16 fighter jets flying overhead. Later, residents could be seen evacuating the building, spilling into the street below.

"It's unclear what Israeli air power would be targeting in that building," Penhaul said. "In the days we have been here, we have seen nothing suspect going on there. No signs of any rocket launchers there."

The strike was part of Israel's escalated military campaign against Hamas, as both sides shunned calls for a cease-fire. On Monday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned that the fighting would be "prolonged."

On Tuesday, Israel carried out dozens of attacks in Gaza. The home of Hamas' top leader in Gaza, Ismail Haniyeh, was destroyed in a predawn airstrike, as were the offices of a Hamas-affiliated TV station and a central mosque in Gaza City.

Hamas, however, remains defiant. "Destroying stones will not break our determination," Haniyeh said in a statement.